Governing Oceans in a Time of Change: Fishing for the Future?(New Horizons in Environmental Politics series)

This incisive book addresses the challenges facing the current institutional framework for governance of high seas fisheries. Marcus Haward identifies significant issues and difficulties affecting the management of fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction, as well as highlighting the key role that fishing and fisheries play in global ocean governance. Through an assessment of the development of regional fisheries organizations and their implementation of management tools, Haward demonstrates their importance in contemporary ocean governance, offering a critical examination of the challenges they face in the pursuit of sustainable fisheries management. The book investigates the ability of regional fisheries bodies to constrain catches and capacity, and explores the factors impacting this, for example, states' lack of cooperation and failure to commit to effective enforcement, and conflicting interests in resource utilization and conservation. Governing Oceans in a Time of Change will prove a critical read for scholars and students of environmental policy, management and governance, particularly those with an interest in ocean governance and fisheries. Policymakers and practitioners working in this area will also find this book beneficial.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Fisheries and ocean governance: new paradigms, old issues? 3. Regional fisheries management 4. Moving with the times? North East Atlantic fisheries 5. Tuna tales: the Pacific and Indian Oceans 6. More than just fish: the Southern Ocean 7. Fishing for the future? 8. Conclusion References Index

About the Author :
Marcus Haward, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania, Australia

Review :
‘For readers familiar with the topic, this book offers a novel angle on the analysis of RFMOs’ effectiveness and performance, one that relies on variables and criteria that cover substantive, procedural and institutional aspects of governance. This is what distinguishes this book from other legal studies on fisheries management. While the author recognises that there is no “one best way” for management and governance, it is definitely the acknowledgement of the complex nature of fisheries that is the key for improved solutions and outcomes. This book participates in the exploration of the possible ways for fisheries organisations to address long-lasting challenges that are re-shaped in the time of change we find ourselves in.’ 'A perfect blend of historical, theoretical and practical perspectives on international fisheries and ocean governance. This book offers masterful critiques of how ecosystem and precautionary approaches are being implemented in four regions of the world - the Northeast Atlantic, Western and Central Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Haward provides a comprehensive guide on the many ways to assess the effectiveness of regional fisheries management organizations including their struggles to address climate change and to protect marine biodiversity.' --David VanderZwaag, Marine and Environmental Law Institute, Dalhousie University, Canada Regional fisheries regimes constitute a distinct class of governance systems. But, increasingly, they interact with regimes dealing with shipping, marine mammals, seabirds, deep seabed mining, pollutants, and marine protected areas as well as with global arrangements addressing climate change and the loss of biodiversity. To understand the resultant institutional interplay, we need a conceptually sophisticated and descriptively rich account of the performance of fisheries regimes. Bringing to bear a combination of theoretical concepts, up-to-date quantitative data, and suitable case studies, Marcus Haward provides the most informed assessment of regional fisheries regimes available today.' --Oran R. Young, University of California, Santa Barbara, US